Bad Choices
Last week, my state’s attorney general, Adam Laxalt, did something that is wrong for my community, my state, and my country. He signed Nevada to the lawsuit against President Obama’s executive action to defer deportation for potentially millions of long-time residents.
I’ve been here in Nevada for decades – nearly 30 of which I’ve spent practicing law. My field is immigration law and I’m a true believer – helping to found and lead the Nevada Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). And now, well, I’m embarrassed for my entire state.
Why did Adam Laxalt decide that it was a good idea to join 24 other states in a meritless, politically motivated lawsuit? Despite the rhetoric, the president’s actions were completely lawful and within his authority, intended to give some freedom from fear for immigrants who are not security risks while Congress hopefully works on a permanent solution.
Mr. Laxalt should know that President Obama’s actions were lawful – they actually fit under the same executive authority that presidents from both parties have used repeatedly over the past decades. A little bit of family history for Mr. Laxalt – when the Reagan administration realized that their amnesty program only helped those who entered before 1982, it allowed family members who had come after 1982 to stay in the U.S. and gave them employment authorization. At that time, one of President Reagan’s closest political advisors was Senator Paul Laxalt from Nevada, the son of Basque immigrants from southern France and the grandfather of Adam Laxalt, the current AG.
Beyond embarrassing a family legacy, joining this lawsuit at this point is pure theater. The preliminary hearing has already been heard – on January 15, 2015 – though the decision has not yet issued from the judge. At the very least, he should have waited to see if the Texas judge would throw this lawsuit out of court the same way that another federal judge threw out Sheriff Arpaio’s lawsuit against the executive actions. Instead he drags our state into pointless and wasteful litigation that does not reflect our values as Nevadans. The arguments presented in the lawsuit, that the U.S. will be economically harmed by Obama’s Executive Action, are speculative and have been rejected in earlier lawsuits. In fact, numerous studies show the exact opposite: that allowing people to come out of the shadows and providing some kind of work authorization for the undocumented will benefit the economy.
Now we hear that the Republican Governor, Brian Sandoval, who supported Mr. Laxalt’s election and has been discussed as a potential Republican candidate for Vice President in 2016, is very concerned about the loose cannon that is his new lawyer. The Governor reportedly said that he was not consulted on the decision to join the lawsuit and that it came out of left field, adding that he would be meeting with the AG to discuss the future course of the lawsuit.
What does Mr. Laxalt do then? He doubles down saying he doesn’t need the governor’s permission. Not the best idea to my mind, but he is making his choices. Sadly though, he is making the wrong ones for our state and our country. I guess Mr. Laxalt doesn’t see it that way but I am proud to say that many Nevadans disagree with him and side with our country’s history, our country’s values, and our country’s future. Thank goodness.
Written by Peter Ashman, Past Chair, AILA Nevada Chapter